********

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

MAPLE LEAF SUGAR COOKIES

This recipe is a favorite at the Red Clover Inn in Redmond Vermont.

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 pound soft butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon maple extract

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

In bowl, sift together flour, cream of tartar, and salt. Using mixer, cream butter in another bowl, 
and then add vanilla and maple extracts. Beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar; beat until 
well mixed. Add 1 egg; mix well. Slowly add dry ingredients. Form into a ball. Wrap and chill 1 hour.
Before rolling out, dust dough and surface with flour. Roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out with 
maple leaf cookie cutter (or any shape). Can reroll scraps. Bake on a non-stick pan at 350 degrees 
for 5 to 7 minutes. Enjoy!

********

SITES OF THE WEEK

Need inspiration?  Check out http://ourcookie.com/frameset.htm  It's a site that sells
decorated cookies but you'll find tons of ideas -- all neatly organized by holiday or
occasion.  

On the subject of inspiration, check out this site.  Somebody went to a LOT of work to
put together this collection of links, nicely organized by holiday or food.  Check out
 http://home.cbel.com/Holiday_Recipes/

********

DECORATING HINTS AND TIPS

Sheryl made cookies for her neighbor's surprise 50th birthday party.  The neighbor
is stuck in the 70's - long hair, beard, peace signs, lava lamps, etc - so she decided
to make these tie-dyed cookies for the party.  She says she got the idea from the
Easter Egg sample I demonstrate at: http://www.kitchengifts.com/marbleeggs.html
VERY CUTE!

These are cookies Ceri made as favors for her daughter's first birthday. What a fun
and memorable idea for a party!  

HARD COOKIE ICING

In response to our discussion about creating "hard" cookie icing, Denise says that she makes
royal icing and add water, thinning it so that it drips off the end of the spoon, leaving no
mark or ripple after a count of 10.  She colors it and paints it on the cookies with a brush.
When it dries, she draws in the design she wants with food markers (like Foodoodlers).  This
enables her to get a much greater amount of detail on each cookie.  She added that if you
don't need an entire batch of the icing to paint your cookies, just dilute a small amount and use
the rest to make other royal icing things like flowers, pumpkins, or candy canes that you'll
be able to save for another time.

BUTTERCREAM ICING IDEA

Diane has a question about this below, but I thought her recipe for buttercream icing
was interesting.  She says she always adds meringue powder to her buttercream icing
so that she gets a slight crust that she can smooth with parchment paper.  She says it helps
to stabilize her colors and give the icing a little extra body so that it holds the shape she has 
piped.  (I wonder if Cookies in Bloom uses meringue powder???)

********
HIGHLIGHT FROM A PREVIOUS ISSUE

Those of us who have been around a while have this, but if you're new to the newsgroup,
this is a definite print and save item.  I first put it in the newsletter #33 two years ago.
I'll also put this is the "Just the Recipes" link for those of you who want to print it out.  

COLOR CHART FOR CREATING CUSTOM COLORS

Apricot = 2 Orange + 1 Golden Yellow
Aqua = 5 Sky Blue + 1 Leaf Green
Avocado = 4 Lemon Yellow + 1 Leaf Green + touch of black
Burgundy = 5 Rose Pink + 1Violet
Chartreuse =  5 Lemon Yellow + 1 Leaf Green
Rust = 8 Orange + 2 Red Red + 1 Brown
Copper = 1 Golden Yellow + 1 Brown + 1 Xmas Red
Hunter Green =  Kelly Green + small amount of Black
Coral =  3 Parts Rose Pink + 2 Parts Lemon Yellow
Lavender =  5 Pink + 1 Violet
Black =  Mix left over color icing together, then add Black Skin Tone -Use
a small amount of Copper
Silver (Gray) =  1 Black + 1 Blue
Turquoise  = 6 Sky Blue + 1 Lemon Yellow
Teal = 9 Sky Blue + small amount of Lemon Yellow
Dusty Rose = 5 Rose Pink + 1 Violet
Mauve =  5 Rose Pink + 2 Orange + 2 Red + 2 Black
Plum  = 1 Violet + a touch of Christmas Red
Gold =  10 Lemon Yellow + 3 Orange + 1 Red
Maroon = 4 Red Red + 2 Burgundy
Ivory  = Use Ivory Paste
Moss Green  = 2 Violet + 3 Lemon Yellow
Navy Blue = 1 Sky Blue + 1 Violet
Grape = 1 Sky Blue + 6 Rose Pink
Raspberry  = 3 Rose Pink + 1 Christmas Red
Ruby Red  = 1 Red Red + touch of Black

********

HELP!

Pam's friend loves carrot cake and Pam made her carrot cake cookies using a carrot cake
mix.  They were OK, but she thinks she can do better.  Does anybody have a terrific
carrot cake cookie recipe??

Patricia is having trouble with her cookie glaze.  She uses 3 C. powdered sugar, 1/4 C. water
1 T. corn syrup and 1/2 t. flavoring.  She says the glaze sometimes dries shiny, sometimes not
and more than half the time, after the glaze dries, it is mottled or blotchy in places.  Any suggestions?

Bette is looking for help decorating gingerbread men.  Does anybody know of a source or
website that has ideas?

Diane used CK meringue powder in her buttercream, instead of Wilton, and it tasted gritty.
Has anybody else had a problem with gritty icing? Any thoughts?

Ceri and Sheryl were kind enough to send me pictures of their handiwork for this week's
newsletter.  I'd like to include yours as well.  You can mail the actual pictures to me 
(Lesley Roubicek-Turman, Kitchen Collectables, Inc. 8901 J Street, Suite 2, Omaha, NE 68127) 
or email them to me as jpgs or gifs to cookiecutters@qwest.net  

As always, if you have suggestions, recipes, or just a thought on any of these questions,
PLEASE send me an email -- cookiecutters@qwest.net

********

FROM THE EDITOR 

I baked 180 sugar cookies yesterday.  Thanks to this newsgroup I had learned how to roll the dough
before I chilled it so the cutting and baking went pretty quickly.  I have two evening cookie 
decorating classes coming up next week so I wanted to get the cookies done and put away 
in the freezer ahead of time.  Michael and Spike (the dog) were hungry and hoping for a broken cookie
but alas, I have also learned to let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes so my
breakage was minimal -- I think each of them got one cookie that had lost one part or another.
With that project out of the way I can now relax and enjoy the rest of my weekend.  

If you are new to our newsletter and wish to receive a weekly reminder that the newest edition
is ready, please email Lesley at cookiecutters@qwest.net .  Type "subscribe" in the subject 
line and I will add you to the list.

Thanks to those of you who contributed to this week's newsletter.  I really depend on your input
to keep this newsletter interesting.  Anyone who has ideas, recipes, thoughts or questions please
feel free to send them to me:  cookiecutters@qwest.net 

Have a GREAT week.

Lesley

Candy Corn Cookies

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 t. vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
Yellow and orange paste food coloring

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. 
Beat in vanilla.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture.
Divide dough in half.  Tint one portion yellow.
Divide remaining dough into two-third and one-third portions.  Color the large portion
orange; leave smaller portion white. (Be sure to add enough coloring to make the colors 
very bright, because when they bake the colors will lighten)

Shape each portion or dough into two 8-inch logs.  Flatten top and push sides in at a slight
angle.  Place orange logs on yellow logs; push the sides in at a slight angle.  Top with white logs;
form a rounded top.  Wrap in plastic wrap.  Chill for 4 hours or until firm.

Unwrap and cut into 1/4 inch slices.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.  Bake at 350 degrees
for 10-12 minutes or until set.  Makes about 5 dozen.

********

SITES OF THE WEEK

SPIDER WEB COOKIES

Martha Stewart has directions for making spider web cookies --if you're still looking for Halloween
ideas -- check out http://marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?&type=content&id=recipe2059&page=1&dp=false

********

DECORATING HINTS AND TIPS

SHINY ICING - REVISITED

Tara sent us this recipe for shinier cookies.

1 c. shortening
1 1/2 t. vanilla
2 c. sifted confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 C sifted confectioner's sugar
1 -2 T. milk

Beat 1 c. shortening and 1 1/2 t. vanilla for 30 seconds.  Slowly add 2 C sifted sugar, beating well.
Add 2 T. milk.
Gradually beat in 1 1/2 c. sugar and 1 to 2 T. milk to make desired consistency.

Tara also shot off an email to Cookies in Bloom and Robert told her that their icing has powdered sugar, 
vegetable shortening, almond and vanilla flavoring.

Speaking of icing, Paula sent me an email earlier this week asking for a recipe for a candy hard icing.
I didn't have a clue but fortunately she was able to answer her own question.  She re read her royal
icing recipe and it said "for candy hard icing beat royal icing for an additional 20 minutes"  Anybody
up for a challenge????

PAM'S BUTTERCREAM ICING

Pam says that she uses only butterecream icing because she doesn't want to give up the 
taste.  When she needs the icing to be smooth, she simply spreads the icing over the 
cookie and smoothes it with a paper towel.  (Viva has no pattern on it)  and then trims 
the edges with a knife.  She says because she uses butter flavoring instead of butter she 
can freeze them.  She says she'll send pictures soon.  Here is her recipe:

1/2 c. white shortening
1 T. butter flavor
1/2 t. salt (keeps the extra sweet taste away)
1/2 c. water
2 lbs. powdered sugar

You may or may not need all the water.  Cream the shortening, water, butter flavor and 
salt.  It will eventually cream together.  Add sugar slowly!


STAINED GLASS COOKIES

Last week Millie asked us about making her stained glass cookies look nicer.  Nan suggested that she
might be using too much candy in her cookies.  Depending on the size of the hole it will take
experimentation to find just the right amount of candy so it leaves a clean edge.

I spent a chunk of time going through my cookie recipe books and surfing the Internet for additional
information on this subject and couldn't find anything very helpful.  If you have additional thoughts or
know of a website that offers more insight, let us know.

LEAF COOKIES

Tara has some suggestions for making leaf cookies.  She said she splits the dough into quarters and tints
3 of them red, orange, and brown.  The fourth one she leaves as is.  Then, using waxed paper she lays
out each of the colored pieces next to each other and rolls it into a flat dough so that the colors are mixed.
She then chills the dough for a bit and then cuts it into leaf shapes.

Nan suggested applying powder food color or luster dust with a paint brush to the base color of dried royal icing.  She said this gives the effect of leaves  turning into fall colors.  

HALLOWEEN COOKIES

Millie was kind enough to send us this photo of her handiwork with KCI's Halloween cookie cutters.
Are you inspired??

********

HELP!

Anne's friend's mom used to make pumpkin sandwich cookies.  The lady passed away earlier this year and the girls can't find the recipe.  She had made them every year for Halloween. Anne would love to find the recipe to surprise her friend. Does anybody have a pumpkin sandwich cookie recipe?

I get lots of emails from folks telling me how much they enjoy the pictures of the decorated cookies I've been including
in the newsletter.  If you would like to share your handiwork with the rest of us I'd love to include them in upcoming
newsletters.  You can mail the actual pictures to me (Lesley Roubicek-Turman, Kitchen Collectables, Inc. 8901 J Street,
Suite 2, Omaha, NE 68127) or email them to me as jpgs or gifs to cookiecutters@qwest.net  

As always, if you have suggestions, recipes, or just a thought on any of these questions,
PLEASE send me an email -- cookiecutters@qwest.net

********

FROM THE EDITOR 

Early last summer I had told Michael that if his grades were up at the end of first quarter we would take him to New York City during his intercession.  Well,  his grades were definitely up (all A's -- is it OK for a mother to brag?)  but none of us were too excited about going to New York just yet.  So, in lieu of 
New York City went to Las Vegas and stayed at New York New York.  None of us are gamblers
but the guys entertained themselves with arcades and checking out cool cars.  My dear friend, TeriLynn,
joined us on the second day so I had somebody to shop with.  She also consented to ride the roller
coaster that goes around the hotel/casino with Michael.  We had a GREAT time.  

If you are new to our newsletter and wish to receive a weekly reminder that the newest edition
is ready, please email Lesley at cookiecutters@qwest.net .  Type "subscribe" in the subject 
line and I will add you to the list.

Thanks to those of you who contributed to this week's newsletter.  I really depend on your input
to keep this newsletter interesting.  Anyone who has ideas, recipes, thoughts or questions please
feel free to send them to me:  cookiecutters@qwest.net 

Have a GREAT week.

Lesley

A new minister was talking to the oldest member of his congregation.

"I am 90 years old, sir, and I haven't an enemy in the world," said the aged one.

"That is a beautiful thought," said the clergyman approvingly.

"Yes sir," was the answer. "I'm thankful to say that I've outlived them all."

********

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Easy and yummy!

Soft Pumpkin Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 T butter
1 egg, beaten
1 t vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup chopped walnut
2 cups flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cream sugar and butter.  Add egg, vanilla, pumpkin
and walnuts.
Stir in flour, baking powder and salt.  Mix well
Drop by tablespoon onto cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes.


********

SITES OF THE WEEK

Lidia was kind enough to send us these fun sites for the newsletter.

For people who like to "Make Stuff."  Be sure to check out the Thanksgiving
and Christmas sites, too.
http://www.make-stuff.com/halloween.html

Halloween on the Net @ Holidays on the Net
http://www.holidays.net/halloween/

Fall Decorating
http://interiordec.about.com/library/bl_fallprlist.htm

Bizarre Stuff in the Kitchen -- home science experiments!
http://freeweb.pdq.net/headstrong/control.htm

********

DECORATING HINTS AND TIPS

GOLD AND SILVER COOKIES

Last week Laureen asked us about using gold and silver on cookies -- she is doing wedding
cookies and the bride's colors are silver and gold.  Several of you had thoughts on the 
subject.

Kerry suggested adding the gold and silver color to gold and silver sanding sugar.  (KCI
now carries gold and silver sanding sugars by the way)

Nan suggested that Laureen mix Luster Dust with vodka to paint on.  She said she pours a little
in the cap and then adds drops and necessary since the alcohol evaporates quickly.

Denise wrote to suggest that Luareen coat the cookies with thinned royal icing (white) 
then use gold/silver dust mixed to a paste with a very small amount of lemon extract.  She 
said designs can be painted on the cookies with no problem. 

Elizabeth said she uses silver and gold dust all the time.  If Laureen's is too thin, she said
that she must be adding too much liquid.  Elizabeth uses an eye dropper and vodka and mixes
with a toothpick.  She makes a little bit at a time.  She added that she can paint two coats
if she wants it darker.  She uses metallic lustre dust fro  Sur La Table http://www.surlatable.com
which is $4.50 per vial

Tara said she uses gold glitter and sprinkles it over the entire cookie before the icing dries.
She said her customers ( http://www.candyandcake.com ) like the looks.  In fact, she just
did 350 fall leaves for a wedding and she used a copperish colored glace and then sprinkled
them with gold glitter-- they loved them!

Phyl said she makes decorations using white chocolate and then paints them with gold
and silver powders.  They look great and add just enough color to go with the gold 
or silver ribbon. For a wedding she used a heart cookie cutter and added a white chocolate 
heart painted with gold dust.

Teri said she bought gum arabic from Beryl's cake supply  http://www.beryls.com  and
thins it with water and then adds her gold dust to that to paint on her cookies.  It dries
and stays on the cookie.  

Kim wrote:  Using Gold leafing or the gold dust on a paint brush dipped in vanilla
(or other extract) will adhere the dust to the frosting.  Check out Toba Garretts Creative 
Cookies book for her gold dust.  Her roses look wonderful with the gold edges.  
(Toba calls the process "gilding")
There is a edible spray out there as well.  Comes in both Gold and Silver.  
It doesn't  *make* the cookie that color, just gives a sheen.  Cake decorators use it 
on silver and gold wedding anniversary cakes.  It runs about $5.00 a can.

PRINTED PICTURES

Wendy asked us last week about printing pictures on cookies.

Tara said she does her photos on edible paper or rice paper and uses her canon printer and 
edible cartridges.  She prints the pictures and then cuts and places them on the cookie.  She then
decorates with a border or other accents.  She said it's really easy to do.

Margaret suggested http://www.icingimages.com  She said they do very reasonable pictures
on edible paper.  You can also purchase the system from them if your are going into business>
They have all sizes and they give you instructions to go with them.

Pam says they do printed pictures at their shop all the time.  They do them cookies and cakes
both.  She said you need a separate printer for the edible ink and you shouldn't use it for
anything else.  The pictures are printed on rice paper and attached to buttercream icing with
a small amount of white corn syrup an a few drops of water.  Use the syrup mixture like
glue and lay the picture on the cookie.  Be careful not to saturate the rice paper design
or the ink will bleed.  

Nan wrote that EVERYONE needs a copy of Sweet Celebration's catalog  http://www.sweetc.com/  
-- she said that if Wendy sends them a photo they will return it with a edible cookie sized version.
For those of you who haven't the foggiest what we're talking about, here is a picture
of a cookie done by Tracy Bowers (see our Need Cookies Page:  
http://www.kitchengifts.com/needcookies.html  She used the edible paper to print the 
information on this realty sign -- very sharp!




DOG BISCUITS

Last week Kathy asked about keeping her dog biscuits from molding if 
they aren't refrigerated.  About that same time I got an email from Gloria 
and Val who make dog biscuits professionally.   Their company is called 
Bowser Bakers and their website is:  http://www.bowserbakers.com 
I posed the question  to her and they were  kind enough to reply.   They said:

"A lot depends on the ingredients used when making the dog biscuits.  Generally, using
dehydrated veggies instead of fresh veggies will help to reduce mold development on the
biscuits.  Also, thoroughly cooking your cookies to a very hard consistency will provide
a much longer shelf-life without refrigeration.  The next important step in storing biscuits
is to put them in an air tight container.  Keep them out of direct sunlight, preferably placing
the container in a cool, dry and dark location.  Of course, the use of some preservatives
will help out as well but our company does not use any."

Teri wrote that hers used to mold but now she bakes them and leaves them in the oven
overnight.  That seems to dry them enough so they don't mold.

Thanks to everyone for their help!

SHINY ICING

Teri, who has been struggling to keep her icing on the cookies and make the icing shiny has
found her solution.  She made her royal icing using pasteurized frozen egg whites.  She sifted
pounds of powdered sugar and added cream of tartar and egg whites till loose.  She said it
looks great on the cookies!

********
MORE LABELS

Marci found another site for labels -- http://www.colorfulimages.com  
 

********

USES FOR COOKIE CUTTERS

Paula was inspired by our stained glass cookie cutters last week and suggested this idea 
for using cookie cutters.  She decorated a Christmas tree with nothing but cutters.  She 
used small diameter jute for the ties and placed an angel cutter at the top.  She didn't use any 
additional tinsel, etc., as my cutters include plastics in colors, coppers, and other types 
that gave color to the tree.  Then she used red kitchen towels for the skirt.

********

HELP!

Several of us our still confused about Cookies In Bloom cookies.  They told me that they
use buttercream icing on their cookies.  So, how come it is smooth and glossy and why
doesn't it smear?

Phyl would like to know if anybody has a good buttercream recipe with the right consistency
for decorating.

Anne, a very sweet fan of our newsletter, is wanting information about which cookies 
she can make ahead and freeze for the holidays and which ones have to wait.  She'd also
appreciate any tried and true recipes you have.

Millie is looking for tips for making stained glass cutout cookies.  She wasn't happy with
last year's results.  She said the cutouts didn't have a nice crisp line where the candies
melted against them.  Any ideas?

Millie is also looking for suggestions on decorating fall leaves -- so they'll look a little
more like the ones God makes.

Amy would like to know who to make a giant cookie such as the cookie gram she has
seen at the mall.  They are so soft and delicious but she can't figure how to make them.

As always, if you have suggestions, recipes, or just a thought on any of these questions,
PLEASE send me an email -- cookiecutters@qwest.net

********

FROM THE EDITOR 

For a limited time Al is offering a free 8 pack of Foodoodler Marking pens with the purchase of
7 or more cookie cutters.  You'll need to call the shop (888/597-0980) or order.

If you are new to our newsletter and wish to receive a weekly reminder that the newest edition
is ready, please email Lesley at cookiecutters@qwest.net .  Type "subscribe" in the subject 
line and I will add you to the list.

Thanks to those of you who contributed to this week's newsletter.  I really depend on your input
to keep this newsletter interesting.  Anyone who has ideas, recipes, thoughts or questions please
feel free to send them to me:  cookiecutters@qwest.net 

Have a GREAT week.

Lesley